Will Richardson waited, and waited.
He waited 10 minutes and 54 seconds to be exact.
He had corralled his ninth rebound of Saturday’s game off a block from Oregon center Kel’el Ware with 11:18 remaining in the second half. He needed just one more to complete the fourth triple double in Ducks history — the first since Luke Jackson in 2002.
“I’m not really playing to get [the triple double],” Richardson said. “If it happens, it happens. I’m not forcing it.”
He didn’t have to.
In fact, his teammates wanted it for him just as much, if not more than he did himself. With 24 seconds remaining and the game in hand as the Ducks led the Nevada Wolfpack 78-65, guard Darrion Williams attempted a three pointer from the top of the key and Richardson readied himself in the middle of the key for rebound No. 10.
“I needed one rebound and the whole time my teammates are saying, ‘Tip the ball to Will, tip the ball to Will,”’ he said. “It just feels good. It’s exciting.”
The Oregon men’s basketball team (5-5, 1-1) beat the Wolfpack 78-65 on Saturday — a win that started with Richardson’s 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, seven of which resulted in made three-point baskets, as the Ducks shot a respectable 41% from deep, led by Quincy Guerrier’s five.
But this win trickled beyond Richardson’s historic statline. It was one administered by a team that’s finding its footing. One that’s a product of a much-needed, week-long break coming off a six-game gauntlet where the Ducks faced five ranked opponents. One that shows the Ducks are growing together, becoming a cohesive unit.
That third rung, that vital process that can define the outcome of a team’s season, it starts at the top with the leadership and team culture. And that’s what Richardson set out to cultivate when he made the decision to return for his fifth season.
“I’m out here trying to be a leader and change who I am as a person,” Richardson said. “My team’s rocking with me to the end.”
When he’s asked about what he’s changed exactly, Richardson has offered little other than he’s not letting off-the-court nonsense seep into the attitude he has when he’s around the team. Regardless, it’s clear his teammates have bought into the message their point guard is preaching.
At practice, he has stayed after to help teammates Rivaldo Soares and Brennan Rigsby with their shot.
It’s clear that where Richardson goes, this team will follow.
Recently, that’s been a positive sign for the Ducks as the fifth year senior has delivered, especially as a facilitator. He’s accumulated 24 assists over the last three games, averaging 5.8 on the season. And if the Ducks can build off the three-point shooting performance they had on Saturday, those assist numbers will continue to rise.
Down the stretch on Saturday, he produced both flashy and simple assists. His second of the second half came on a no-look dish to a cutting Luk Wör. He continued to feed Guerrier on the perimeter. With 4:40 remaining, his pass set up a Guerrier three which extended the Ducks lead to 17.
Not only is this team flourishing as one, but they’re learning from mistakes that cost them in past defeats.
“We lost to UCLA for a number of reasons,” head coach Dana Altman said. “The biggest reason was that we got outrebounded.”
That, and the Ducks struggled to protect the rim.
On Saturday, they outrebounded the Wolfpack by eight and tallied 11 blocks led by Ware’s four.
A win like this — one where each player who stepped onto the court, contributed — bodes well for the Ducks moving forward. As they get healthier, and guys like Brennan Rigsby and Tyrone Williams, who just returned, grow more comfortable in their roles, results like this will follow.
And as the Ducks emerge from their toughest stretch of the season, into one where they play five straight home games against unranked opponents, they’ll benefit from the lessons losses can teach.
